We Only Part To Meet Again

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

What an exciting year! I tried giving you a real peek in our classroom this year, and I hope you were not disappointed. And speaking of giving, I am ready to give you some news. What does the future hold? Read on to find out!

A Voice on Selective Mutism

 

Photo: Paige served as an Ambassador for the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame in Nashville (04/08).

I am sorry for not posting on Monday. I made an unexpected trip to Atlanta which met with the end-of-the-year packing and wrapping up upon return. As promised, however, I do have a guest blogger for you today. Her name is Tammy, and she is the mother of one of my students, Paige. Paige was diagnosed with selective mutism at the age of four. I asked Tammy if she could post some information on selective mutism so that there could be a greater awarness of what SM is and is not. 

Content Week: One Subject, One Day at a Time

 

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28428069@N07/

Next week is our last full week at school, and I am really looking forward to it. Why? The last week is going to be devoted to going in depth with each core subject. Have I gone mad? You be the judge based on our upcoming plans I am about to share. But as one student dubbed it, we are going to have a "funcational week." If you are interested in some MacGyver-like activities or an excuse to fling workbooks around with a catapult, or even a reason to go build and fly a tetrahedron kite, look no further...

Classroom Design

Taking Lemons and Making Lemon Meringue Pie

With the end of the year approaching, that dreaded checklist will be in your hands soon. My guess is that the largest job on that list is packing up the room. This usually includes directions to move all of your materials to one side of the room, cover up everything, and take things off the walls, to name a few. I actually look forward to this because it is the perfect time to think about how you would like to set-up and decorate your classroom for the following school year. Here are my six recommendations for classroom design and set-up.

Replacing Overused Words: Just a Band-Aid

 
A quick Internet check offers a plethora of activities and suggestions for making writing "sizzle," but I can't help but notice how this attempt at "correcting" writing has gone wrong. Call it what you'd like: putting said to bed; million dollar words; sizzle words; worn out words; snazzy synonyms; graveyard words. The list goes on. But the reality is this- replacing "She was sad," with "She was depressed," doesn't push our students to new levels of writing proficiency. It is only a band-aid to a larger goal at hand.